I picked this up at Target this morning (it was the first time I'd actually seen it), and for the most part, I think it's a nice toy. It definitely has a very animated look to it, which is odd considering that Hasbro said they would be taking a realistic approach with the vehicles. That said, it is pretty much identical to the animation model, so in terms of accuracy, it gets an A. I haven't seen anyone do a really detailed review of this toy yet, so I'll run down some of the highlights and lowlights for those who are wondering what's in the box.

First of all, in comparison to the Delta-7A JSF mold that Hasbro has been using since 2002, this is a bit smaller, but not by much. Most of the size difference is in the wingspan, as the 7B is a bit more slender than the 7A. The 7A is just slightly (maybe half an inch) longer than the 7B, but the 7B is a bit thicker, especially near the engines/cockpit area. (Paging "Quote Your Fellow Posters Out of Context" thread!)

The action feature of separating into two ships works pretty well, with the rear section looking like a prototype of the ETA Interceptor JSFs. I should note, though, that the TIE Fighter cockpit window in front of the cockpit in this mode is NOT a transparent piece, and there are no opening solar panels on the wings either. It truly does look like a rough prototype for the ETA and, as a toy, it looks nice. The cockpit itself is rather huge and, while it fits the animated Obi-Wan figure well, a soft goods skirt piece would really help that, but that has nothing to do with this ship.

The front half (or as it is referred to on the packaging, the "drone ship") has spring out wings and a drop-down missle launcher (think the BMF hidden cannon on the bottom, but non-rotating). The interesting thing is that not only can the droid socket hold an astromech, it is also made so that a regular action figure can sit in the drone cockpit (the character's head will stick through the astromech slot, meaning it would have to be an atmospheric ship) if you wish. I tried several astromech droids (notably the R4-G9 mold and the R5 droid from the Y-Wing) in the slot and all worked really well, although the animated R2-D2 mold works best due to the shoulders not sticking up so far.

There are a couple of sore points, however. The first is that there is no R4-P17 figure at retail to put in the astromech socket. One of my key arguments with Hasbro is making ships with no corresponding pilots to go in them (or vice versa), and the fact that the packaging artwork features R4-P17 on it even though there is no figure available is kind of irritating to say the least. Also on this line of thinking, the instructions note that the fighter works with the Hyperdrive Ring (sold separately!) even though you can't get a Hyperspace ring separately, unless you live near a TRU and want to spring for the whole JSF assembly all over again. It's nice that Hasbro made it so that it would work with existing toys (and, for the record, it does work perfectly with the Hyperdrive ring from the Obi-Wan JSF), but to say something is sold separately when it is clearly not is disturbing.

I'd also like to note that the ship has no landing gear, which is kind of bothersome. The pull-down missle launcher on the front of the ship functions as the front landing gear and I realize that to include the type of landing gear from the 2002 JSF mold would have necessitated dropping the pull-down launcher from the toy completely, but the ship already has two launchers on the top, so the one on the underside is totally unnecessary and I would have rather had landing gear instead. Maybe that's just me, though.

All in all, ancillary griping aside, the toy works really well as a toy, looks like the animation model, and holds the associated figures well (even if said figures don't actually exist as yet). While I still like the 2002 mold better (excluding the stupid action feature on that mold), this one looks nice, is sturdy, and is worth picking up if you're a fan of the series. I just hope that Hasbro gets on the ball and puts out an R4-P17 and maybe offers individual Hyperdrive rings on their website or as a mailaway to go with it.

Picked this up today at Target, but haven't had a chance to open it yet. I must say the the box is extremely light compared to the other "assault" vehicles so is this ship smaller or did Hasbro just cheap out on the plastic? Anyone care to post comparison pics of all three Jedi fighters? Please?

I saw one of these at our local Target this weekend, and my wife picked it up as a Christmas present - so I haven't had a chance to open it up and check it out yet. I'm thinking I might have to cut back or stop with prequel vehicles next year, but I've always wanted to pick up this ship. Obi-Wan is my favorite character in the prequels, and I sort of like to pick up his vehicles. Like I said, I haven't opened it yet, but kind of like the two ships aspect of this - sort of "mini rig" esque like the Falcon's escape pod/fighter, and that reminds me of the vintage days. Looks like its a pretty nice vehicle overall, and thanks for the nice review DoctorPadawan. I did notice that the box seemed really light as well. Now, how many repaints of this mold will we see? I don't know that I'd pick up any others aside from Plo Koon, and maybe Anakin (learned my lesson with the ROTS fighters a little on that), but that's more to the lack of space and budget than it being a poor looking ship.

I picked this up at Target this morning (it was the first time I'd actually seen it), and for the most part, I think it's a nice toy. It definitely has a very animated look to it, which is odd considering that Hasbro said they would be taking a realistic approach with the vehicles. That said, it is pretty much identical to the animation model, so in terms of accuracy, it gets an A. I haven't seen anyone do a really detailed review of this toy yet, so I'll run down some of the highlights and lowlights for those who are wondering what's in the box.

First of all, in comparison to the Delta-7A JSF mold that Hasbro has been using since 2002, this is a bit smaller, but not by much. Most of the size difference is in the wingspan, as the 7B is a bit more slender than the 7A. The 7A is just slightly (maybe half an inch) longer than the 7B, but the 7B is a bit thicker, especially near the engines/cockpit area. (Paging "Quote Your Fellow Posters Out of Context" thread!)

The action feature of separating into two ships works pretty well, with the rear section looking like a prototype of the ETA Interceptor JSFs. I should note, though, that the TIE Fighter cockpit window in front of the cockpit in this mode is NOT a transparent piece, and there are no opening solar panels on the wings either. It truly does look like a rough prototype for the ETA and, as a toy, it looks nice. The cockpit itself is rather huge and, while it fits the animated Obi-Wan figure well, a soft goods skirt piece would really help that, but that has nothing to do with this ship.

The front half (or as it is referred to on the packaging, the "drone ship") has spring out wings and a drop-down missle launcher (think the BMF hidden cannon on the bottom, but non-rotating). The interesting thing is that not only can the droid socket hold an astromech, it is also made so that a regular action figure can sit in the drone cockpit (the character's head will stick through the astromech slot, meaning it would have to be an atmospheric ship) if you wish. I tried several astromech droids (notably the R4-G9 mold and the R5 droid from the Y-Wing) in the slot and all worked really well, although the animated R2-D2 mold works best due to the shoulders not sticking up so far.

There are a couple of sore points, however. The first is that there is no R4-P17 figure at retail to put in the astromech socket. One of my key arguments with Hasbro is making ships with no corresponding pilots to go in them (or vice versa), and the fact that the packaging artwork features R4-P17 on it even though there is no figure available is kind of irritating to say the least. Also on this line of thinking, the instructions note that the fighter works with the Hyperdrive Ring (sold separately!) even though you can't get a Hyperspace ring separately, unless you live near a TRU and want to spring for the whole JSF assembly all over again. It's nice that Hasbro made it so that it would work with existing toys (and, for the record, it does work perfectly with the Hyperdrive ring from the Obi-Wan JSF), but to say something is sold separately when it is clearly not is disturbing.

I'd also like to note that the ship has no landing gear, which is kind of bothersome. The pull-down missle launcher on the front of the ship functions as the front landing gear and I realize that to include the type of landing gear from the 2002 JSF mold would have necessitated dropping the pull-down launcher from the toy completely, but the ship already has two launchers on the top, so the one on the underside is totally unnecessary and I would have rather had landing gear instead. Maybe that's just me, though.

All in all, ancillary griping aside, the toy works really well as a toy, looks like the animation model, and holds the associated figures well (even if said figures don't actually exist as yet). While I still like the 2002 mold better (excluding the stupid action feature on that mold), this one looks nice, is sturdy, and is worth picking up if you're a fan of the series. I just hope that Hasbro gets on the ball and puts out an R4-P17 and maybe offers individual Hyperdrive rings on their website or as a mailaway to go with it.

If not having an an R4-P17 bothers you it should be noted that in the Clone Wars movie R2-D2 did inhabit the droid socket (apparently this is how he made it to the surface). Also the Jedi Starfighter with Hyperspace Ring is available and in stock at Toys R Us .com, for $24.45 with free shipping, about the price of a regular midsize vehicle in the store. I think the lower forward missle launcher was great idea, because it gives the forward section some firepower. This adds play value if your a kid and has to share his toy.